The Princess and the Fued
by DisBeam96
Summary: Eli Goldsworthy's world gets turned upside down when long lost sister, Dani winds up on his doorstep. Will the two finally get over themselves and declare a truce, or will little sister cause more harm than good? Eclare and OC, rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1: A Little Devil

**Author's Note: This story is centered around OC Danielle Riveres (or Dani Goldsworthy, I guess XD) who is fifteen and new to Degrassi as a Grade Ten. I'm planning on eventually writing a ''prequel'' chapter, to better explain Dani's background, but in the mean time, most of everything you need to know to follow the story will be given to you through the story or through an A/N at the beginning of the chapter. I tend to be the kind of person that writes backwards, planning a small scene in detail then working back to the explanation and all that other important stuff, and since this is just for fun I figured I'd just do that. The idea of Dani just sort of came to me one day and I wrote a small little scene (which later evolves into one of the main chapters), and I couldn't stop going! I have a big plot planned out and can't wait for it to all fall together! I am so excited to just get right into it, but I'll give you guys a little background on her before I get started - Dani was born when Eli was just two years old, but Bullfrog and Cece were not financially capable of having two children at the time. They decided to give their daughter Danielle up for adoption before birth, so Eli would never see her and he wouldn't ask any questions. As soon as Dani was born she went to her adoptive parents, a young couple unable to have kids of their own. Long story short, Dani winds up finding her birth parents and their older son, Eli, fifteen years later and is immediately welcomed into the family by Bullfrog and Cece. She moves in with them because of her messy situation at home and then begins to attend school at Degrassi, too. It goes without saying Eli is not too fond of being a big brother to "this little home-wrecker" and is angry at his parents for this whole situation.**

**Please give me feedback, I love knowing what I can improve on in my writing.**

**Oh, also, in case it wasn't obvious: I do not own Degrassi, any parts of such, or any form of media that contains/contained the following characters (with the sole exclusion of Danielle (Dani) Riveres-Goldsworthy. I do have any part of plot lines (past, present or future) that appear on the television program, nor do I claim to have any ownership of them; if they are referenced, it is purely for the sake of keeping cannon. Any likeness of characters living or dead is purely coincidental unless said characters have been portrayed on Degrassi during it's 31 season run. No rights reserved, excluding my original character.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter One ~ The Little Devil<span>

"Hey big brother." Dani said as she pounced from behind Eli onto the side where the inside of his locker door faced. She leaned onto the locker next to his as she flashed a friendly smile.

"Don't call me that." He reminded, gathering up a textbook and some folders.

"Oh good lord, Eli. Are you still on that?"

"On what?" He practically shouted. "I'm not your brother because I don't have a sister." Dani rolled her eyes. Just because he didn't want to believe his parents had a daughter, didn't mean Dani was just gonna disappear into thin air. He slammed his locker shut and walked off hoping to shake the annoying tenner off; but she didn't give up so easy.

"Are we really talking about this now?" She sighed. "Look, I know you don't exactly "approve" of my presence-"

"That's an understatement." He said sarcastically and annoyed. "I didn't exactly wish for long lost little sister to wind up on my doorstep but guess who got a surprise!"

"Whatever, you win. I get it." Dani said exhaling. "Anyways, I came to talk to you for a reason."

"Really?" Eli looked at her, raising an eyebrow. He was still paying minimal attention, not deeming her worthy of his full patience.

"Yeah. I met your girlfriend. She seems nice..."

"Oh really?" The grade 12 chuckled, obviously only half listening. "Wait, girlfriend?" He stopped out of surprise.

"Uh, yeah... remember her? Short, brunette, glasses, kinda quirky. A bit odd, knows everything about you..."

"Imogen?" He breathed.

"Sure, I guess that works." She shrugged dismissively. "As I was saying-"

"Imogen's not my girlfriend." Eli corrected, cutting his little sister off. They started walking again.

"She isn't? Well she seems to think the two of you are awful close. Wait," She extended her arm, stopping him again. "is she stalking you?"

"No. And besides. Who are you to be concerned with my life?" He scoffed. "I have a Physics quiz. I'll see you at home." He adjusted his backpack higher on his shoulder before starting off, walking faster this time.

"Eli, wait!" She called after him, making him stop and turn his head. He raised an eyebrow. She debated telling him what she had originally intended, but quickly decided against it. It wasn't a big deal. Instead she decided on asking a much more important question. "I'm sorry about this whole, ordeal. Do you totally hate me?" She asked meekly. He eyed her for a minute before giving an ever so subtle smirk.

"See you at home." he repeated before leaving again. Dani let out a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was her and Eli to be at odds. She honestly felt bad about invading on the Goldsworthy's home, upsetting their lives and turning their worlds upside down. Everything Eli knew had been put to the test in the few hours after he had first met his sister. And she felt bad about that.

Of course, not bad enough to leave. She'd had her fair-share of troubled times, and besides, she only wanted a DNA test, Bullfrog and Cece had been the one's to invite her to live with them and go to Degrassi with Eli. Well, after she had told them her sob story. Minor details. In any case, she hadn't really liked Eli when she first met him, she only wanted to make sure he was on her side if there was ever a battle at home. Of course, as she originally expected, that hadn't gone over so well. But, he was starting to grow on her, he was her brother after all, what good would he be if he hated her? Better yet, what good would Dani be if she had someone hating her? She had already won over Bullfrog and was now "Daddy's perfect little princess" (she was totally taking advantage of his guilt, but so what?), and Cece had totally taken over as her new "best-friend-mom" (she wasn't complaining too much, it was a nice change of pace) and was quickly establishing how sorry they were. The only one missing was the protective older brother, but he'd come around sooner or later.

All of a sudden Dani heard a familiar voice. It was a kind sweet voice, but it took a minute for Dani to recognize who it belonged to.

"Hi, Dani." The bright and sunny voice said.

"Clare," Dani answered. The two had met on the younger girl's first day as she wandered into the wrong math class. Clare had stopped her during lunch and the two seemed to hit it off pretty well. Dani refrained from telling most people about her older brother (his wishes, not hers), this included her new friend, but she figured it'd slip soon if the two remained social. "I was just thinking about you."

"Really?" She tilted her head in both bewilderment and curiosity.

"Yes." Dani answered matter of factly. "I have two tickets to the community performance of Beauty and the Beast, I really wanted to go but unfortunately the tickets I have are for Friday night and I have a prior engagement. I remembered you saying something about being into theater, do you want them?" She asked sweetly. She was going to give them to Eli but he wouldn't even give her the time of day. Plus, she figured on account of Imogen "not being his girlfriend" or whatever that he'd just wind up going alone. She wasn't about to have that. But, Clare seemed nice, and if she didn't have anyone to go with maybe she would just give the other ticket to big bro...

"Um," Clare said a little caught off guard. "I'd love to, but two days..." She thought about Jake; she couldn't possibly ask him to go, could she? He wasn't really a theater guy. Maybe she could ask a friend, like Eli. No, defiantly not. Though, he was her only friend she knew was as into drama as she was. No, she couldn't. "I'd love to," she said hesitantly. "but I wouldn't have anyone to go with. I don't want to waste your tickets."

"Nonsense," Dani assured, trying not to look too shocked. This would be perfect. "how about this, I'll hold on to the other ticket just in case I can get myself out of what I'm doing, and if you find someone to go with you, I'll give you the extra ticket. Sound like a plan?" Clare nodded and grabbed the ticket from Dani as she pulled them out of her purse. "Great. Well I gotta get to class. See you around." She said brightly before walking off to Geometry as the first bell rang. This couldn't be more perfect. She'd give the other ticket to Eli as an "apology" gift, tell Clare she was sending someone in her place, and have then magically fall in love. Dani had never seen the too talk so she was fairly certain they were perfect strangers to one another. Oh, and with him not dating that crazy 'Imogen' chick? Jackpot! Clare was such a sweet girl, and honestly seemed to have a lot in common with her brother, the two would make such an adorable couple. Plus, with Eli's mind on his new girlfriend, he wouldn't be on Dani's case all the time, maybe he'd lighten up? The plan was flawless... right?


	2. Chapter 2: Aux Innocents les Main Pleins

Dani sat in her last class of the day anxiously waiting for the bell to ring. She heard the French instructor lecturing in the background about something absolutely useless as she mindlessly doodled in her notebook. The language bored her, much accredited to the fact she was already practically fluent, but they lost a few of her credits when she transferred schools leading her to take a few classes again - ugh - with foreign language being one of them. Part of her was bored out of her mind, and another part couldn't wait to get out of class and find her brother so she could give him the ticket to the show for tomorrow night. She hoped he didn't have plans, but something told her it'd be another boring Friday night if she didn't step in.

"Can anyone tell me the French proverb 'Fortune favors the innocent'?" The teacher asked. A handful of student's hands shot up, eager to please the instructor. Dani rolled her eyes and shifted her attention back to her notebook. "Miss Danielle, how about you?" Dani looked up and let out a long sigh. Why did he insist on calling her by her full name? Was it really that hard to just say Dani? She shook her head and adjusted herself in her seat, sitting up straighter. She put her elbows on the desk and softly set her chin in her hands, looking up coyly at the instructor who had a look on his face making it obvious he thought he was oh so clever.

"Aux innocents les main pleins." Dani said with a perfect accent. The teachers eyes widened as a smirk slowly crept onto her face and she sat back in her chair. He responded with a simple nod, clearly upset with Dani's flawless translation, before turning back and continuing the lesson.

Only a few minutes passed before the bell rang and Dani sauntered out the front doors of Degrassi. She had to come up with the perfect way to give the ticket to her brother without looking or sounding too suspicious. Maybe he wouldn't necessarily go for a musical, but it was defiantly worth a shot, right? Just picturing him and Clare together made her giddy, if this went over well maybe her and Eli wouldn't be at such odds, the idea made sense in every possible way. She just couldn't tell him anyone would be there. But where could she find him now that school had let out? Surely he wouldn't be at home for a few hours.

_**Hey, can we talk? I have something I wanna give to you as soon as I can. Are you in the area of the school? How about The Dot in ten?**_

She quickly typed out on her phone. Pressing send, she decided she may as well wait for him there. He replied quickly,

_**What is it? I'm not exactly in the mood.  
><strong>_  
>Dani sighed loudly and quickly typed back,<em><strong><strong>_

_**Please? It's a gift, it'll only take a second :)**_

_**Fine. I'm right around the corner; be there in a second.**_

She smiled to herself and continued off.

Just as she pulled out a seat for herself at one of the tables in the back she saw Eli come in. She flashed a bright smile and he simply glared in response as she took the ticket out of her bag.

"What is it?" He said quietly yet snappy. Dani resisted the urge to counter his testy tone with a sarcastic comment about something trivial like his hair or the like; she was on a mission to get him on her side, a grumpy and angsty teenage boy was certainly not going to get in her way.

"I feel really bad, about everything. I know that I can't but your approval or even your acceptance, but I wanted to give you something. Like a peace offering." She smiled convincingly and pushed the ticket towards him. "It's for Friday night, Beauty and the Beast. I remember you saying something about liking live theater and since I realized I couldn't go after I bought the ticket, I thought maybe you wanted it?" He looked down at the ticket and back at his sister without saying a word. She swallowed hard and continued. "I'm sorry it's just one ticket, I was just going to go by myself, but it's orchestra seating." She paused and looked down. "You don't have to go if you don't want to, but I thought maybe you would. I just wanted to do something nice." Eli took the ticket in his hand and slowly smirked, slowly blinking once.

"Thanks," He said earnestly. "I really appreciate it, but you now you didn't have to do this, right?"

"No, no!" She exclaimed shaking her hands. "I really wanted to. Like I said, I can't make it and I don't want the tickets to go to waste-"

"Tickets?"

"No! I meant ticket! Just one, right there..." She covered nervously, mentally hitting herself for her little slip of the tongue. "So, what do you say...?"

"Yeah, I'll go. Not really my style but it doesn't hurt to try new things, right?" Eli shrugged as his sister nodded a little too eagerly. She was so excited he was taking the bait so easily and so quickly. "Who knows, I may actually enjoy it." He stood up and nudged his chair in with his knee. "Thank's Dan," The boy repeated before chuckling, "but I can't help but think you have some ulterior motive." He laughed again. Dani froze, her eyes the size of dinner plates, just for a nanosecond before she laughed, a little too loudly.

"Nope, just a little gift to my big brother." She smiled again and he shot her another slightly annoyed smirk before he opened the door and walked out of The Dot. Dani let out a huge breath as soon as he was out of sight. Step two of three, complete. Now all that was left was to keep both of them in the dark until tomorrow night.

_

"So she just gave you a free ticket to some Disney Musical? Sounds a little off." Adam mused aloud. The two stood in the hallway Friday morning discussing yesterday afternoon's antics. Adam was the only one Eli had told about Dani, and to the best of his knowledge, he was the only one that knew. Well, besides a handful of faculty members, of course

"Yeah, seemed completely unlike her but everyone has a good side to them, right?"

"She's starting to grow on you, isn't she?" He asked chuckling.

"No way, man! She still ruined my life, first and foremost... But who am I to turn down a gift?" He shrugged smiling to himself.

"Whatever, I'd watch out for her, though." Eli shook his head and slammed his locker shut. All of a sudden a shorter, curly-haired girl turned the corner, passing the two guys as she texted down the hall, shrugging her green and black school bag higher onto her shoulder. As she looked up for just a second to make sure she wasn't about to run into anyone, Eli caught a glimpse of her eyes. They were a beautiful blue that were brought out by the contrast of her red-orange shirt, and suddenly they locked in with Eli's dark green ones. He flashed a nervous half smirk and quickly averted his gaze, pretending to be overly interested in an imaginary piece of lint on his jacket sleeve. Though he couldn't see it on account of him looking away, the girl blushed when they had made eye contact, and was now looking down and walking a tad faster, smiling to herself. "Dude, flirting across the hall with your ex? Is that really such a good idea?" Adam asked. It would've been impossible for Eli to pretend he hadn't seen Clare, but he couldn't yet admit that he _still_ wasn't over her. After everything that had happened, Eli still loved Clare... and he felt terrible about that.

"Relax, it was a harmless smile." The first bell rang and Eli waved his friend off as he headed to his first class.

"Hey, like I said," the Grade Eleven called out "watch out for 'innocent' little sis. I'm still not fully convinced she doesn't have something up her sleeve." Eli forced a chuckle and rolled his eyes. He didn't want to admit it aloud, but his friend held some truth to his warnings. The change in his little sister's behavior was so sudden and completely unexpected that Eli had contemplated something being behind it; something was way too out of the ordinary for her to do this on her own. But, against his better judgment he decided to let this fly under the radar and except the "peace offering" as she had called it. Come one, it was a free ticket to a show, what could go wrong?

Answer? A lot.


	3. Chapter 3: The Show Must go on!

Clare shifted in her seat as the orchestra began the opening score for the audience to finish filing in. There was no sight of Dani anywhere; leading Clare to set her purse on the empty seat so the creepy old man to her left would keep his distance. She looked around nervously, she loved this show but she really had no interest in seeing it alone. Sighing, Clare looked down at her purse, remembering she had forgotten to silence her phone. Grabbing it and lighting up the screen she saw she had a text. _One new Text Message: _it read. _From - __**Dani**__. _Clare's eyebrows furrowed as she hit read.

_**Hey girlie, so sorry I couldn't make it; I got way tied up here. I hope you don't mind, but I sent someone in my place to escort you. Don't worry, he's not too weird, he's pretty cute if I do say so myself. LOL. Have fun :)**_

Clare stared at the words on the screen for a moment before quickly typing out a reply.

_**Don't worry about it, hope everything's okay. Oh, and thanks, glad I'm not here all by my lonesome, haha. Who'd you send?**_

Closing her phone, the girl heard a voice from beside her, ultimately answering her question.

"Is this seat taken?" The voice asked. Clare's head whipped around revealing the face. Eli? Danni had sent him in her place? But how- "Clare...?" Eli asked upon recognizing her.

"Hi, um, what are you doing here?" She stammered, realizing how stupid she sounded as soon as the words came out of her mouth.

"Going to see a show?" He answered coyly, his expression not faltering; even though his insides were doing summer salts. "I would ask you the same question, but the answers rather obvious, no?" Eli took her purse and set it on her lap as he took his seat.

"Right." She sighed, rolling her eyes at the idiocy of her question. _Wait..._She thought, turning to face him. "D-did Dani send you here?" His face turned to stone as the name of his sister. He slowly ran his tongue over his top teeth inside his mouth, a look of pure disgust plastered on his face.

"Yes." The boy answered coldly, not making eye contact with Clare who forced a smile and an incredibly fake and awkward laugh.

"She gave me a ticket and told me that she'd try to be here; and if not she'd send someone in her place."

"Yeah, she sent me." Eli repeated. Clare didn't need to know anything else about the situation, so he simply adjusted himself in the theatre seat and told himself to enjoy the show.

"She didn't tell me either." Clare persisted, reading his mind. She had always been so good at that. Eli rolled his eyes, hoping the girl would just drop it, but that didn't seem to happening anytime soon. "Are you two close friends.

He sighed. "Not exactly... well kind of. It's complicated." He murmured, and looked forward to the stage that was outfitted with an old wooden table and a single red rose standing up straight as a pin.

"Oh," Clare responded, clearly catching onto the fact he didn't want to talk about his relationship with Dani, but her curiosity peaked and she dared to press on. "Maybe you wouldn't mind explaining it to me sometime...?" He looked over to her with juts his eyes and smirked his infamous 'devil may care' smirk and let out a small chuckle.

"Maybe." Clare's mouth twitched into a smile and she turned forward as she heard the orchestra grow louder and begin the score for the beginning sequence and saw the large velvet red curtain rise as the auditorium lights dimmed. The stage lights narrowed into a spotlight focused only on a young man sitting in a grand throne - the Prince - while the table with the rose had already moved offstage with the assistance of a stage crew member.

Slowly the spotlight widened, revealing the castle staff in their human forms, all in a tableaux position, as a voice offstage began to speak.

_Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind..._

Soon a whoosh of music sounded and an ugly, ragged, old woman limped into view. She held up a single rose to the Prince as the narrator continued.

_But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the door. She offered him a single rose, in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift, and turned the old woman away._ _She warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty if found within. And when he dismissed her again, the woman's ugliness melted away,  
><em>  
>Just then, the hunchbacked "old" woman threw off her cloak as she was raised into the air, taking away half of the audience's (including Clare's) breath. She had long blonde hair which nobody could tell whether it was real or a wig, and ice blue eyes you could see from the audience. She was clad in a long flowing white and silver dress that showed off her perfect figure. Everything about this girl seemed perfect, almost too perfect...<p>

_to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love inside his heart. And as punishment, she turned him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle, along with all who lived there._

Lights began flashing and stage hands danced around with large set pieces and mirrors to distract from the new actor who was entering the stage. He was tall and had on the most elaborate Beast costume both Clare and Eli had ever seen. The long, royal, violet robe dragged on the ground as the actor moved about onstage. Long, dark brown "fur" covered his body and the paws he walked on were simply enormous. Once a settled sight of him was revealed to the audience Clare let out another gasp and Eli leaned forward with immense intrigue. 

Ashamed of his hideous form, the Beast concealed himself inside his castle; with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered, was truly an enchanted

_rose, which would bloom for many years. If he could learn to love another, and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast, for all of time. As time passed, he fell into a deep despair... for who could ever learn to love..._

_**a beast**__...?_

* * *

><p>The curtain fell, meeting the stage, as the house lights came on, silencing the wild applause and signaling the end of the final number. Clare gathered her coat and purse in her hands and stood up. She looked down at Eli who was overly-interested in the program and frowned.<p>

"Are you going home…?" She asked cautiously, her words covered with a bit of humor. This whole situation was clearly awkward between the two of them, the last thing Clare wanted to do was make things worse, but she figured the two of them not talking at all would do just that. They had barely said three words during intermission; it was almost as if Eli hated being there.

"Of course I am." He answered, barely bothering to look up from his program. Clare shifted her weight onto one foot and let out a small sigh, biting her lip. She was unsure exactly how to categorize this outing. Were they at a play as friends? Were they meant to be set up by a mutual friend on a "blind" date? Or were they just two civilians enjoying a play that just happened to know each other and sit together? It was certainly a gray area and Clare certainly wasn't sure how to define it.

"Well," She started fumbling for words and quickly gave up, which could be noted by her change in body language, simply covering with "I guess this is goodbye?"

"Do you need a ride home?" Eli offered, standing up himself. He didn't want to be rude but this was new territory, he wasn't sure how to be his typical calm, carefree and charming self with all these unanswered questions. All throughout the play he would steal glances at Clare, smiling brightly at her emotions to the performance. A part of him was afraid of taking things the wrong way and thinking they were one thing when the situation clearly screamed another. He was at a loss for words and actions, not sure if what he said or did would just make things even weirder between them. He saw her smile and his green eyes lit up as he responded with a smirk.

"That'd be great, if it's not too much of a burden." She answered sweetly, a touch of red blush coming to her cheeks. Eli went to laugh but quickly stopped himself. "… Jake will be glad he doesn't have to come pick me up." Eli caught the tail end of when Clare was saying and frowned. _Jake_. He had forgotten all about the menace. The boy felt his face twist into a partially saddened, partially angry expression before he sighed and pulled his keys out of his pocket.

"Wouldn't want to bother your little boyfriend," Eli said quietly with immense sarcasm. He shook the little rain cloud over his head off and walked out of the auditorium and out into the parking lot with Clare right by his side; both of them not speaking but to give kudos to the actors who mingled in the lobby. He opened the passenger side door and the girl nodded in thanks as she got in. The entire interior of the vehicle was silent. As Eli pulled out of the parking lot and headed down the road for home Clare finally piped up and broke the silence.

"So," Her gaze shifted between him and the floor "in all honesty I'm really glad Dani did this. I miss not talking to you. This was really fun."

"Yeah." He answered sharply upon being reminded of his sister. Clare's expression was a mix of frustration, curiosity and slight disappointment.

"Are you too," She paused unsure how to go about this "a touchy subject or something?" Eli just rolled his eyes. "C'mon, talk to me, Eli." He sighed. _Fuck it. _He thought. _It's not like she's not gonna find out sooner or later._

"Danielle, well to put it bluntly, she's my sister." Eli made a face like a little kid who had just eaten a bitter brussel sprout. The words tasted like venom on his tongue, making him crave Clare's sweet lips even more – but one thing had nothing to do with the other, it was really just an excuse.

"Oh, well then…" Clare gasped a tiny bit and set her hands down in her lap politely. She could tell Eli wasn't too keen on this whole concept so she decided to limit herself to one more question; he'd talk about it when and if we decided he wanted to. "Why did she decide to come to Degrassi?"

"Before she was even born my parents put her up for adoption. Once she was out she was gone, off on her new life – she never even came home from the hospital with us. I never knew she existed until she showed up on our door step over the summer. She was having a lot of trouble at home and through a wild chain of events found out she was adopted." He looked over at Clare for just a second before looking back on to the road and switching his gaze from one to the other as he continued explaining. "To make a long story even longer, she found my parents' name through a people search and then googled it. I came up and I guess she figured since they had one kid they'd want another. So, after about a month of legal work she moved in with us… and went to Degrassi with me." Eli shrugged and offered a half smirk as if to say "no big deal really". Of course that was a lie. Eli was furious about the whole situation; he held a grudge on his sister just for even being alive! If you asked him directly, he would manage a rather believable lie, but Eli was honestly glad he had just told Clare all of this. He felt like a huge weight had just been removed from his shoulders with every word he spoke. She was the only person (outside of the four of them, of course) that knew this story; all Adam knew was Dani was Eli's "long-lost" sister, and he was wise enough to leave it at that. But Eli was relieved to have vented, part of him wanted to thank Clare for pushing the subject. Though, part of him also wanted to kill Dani for putting him into this situation in the first place – no, wait, that was all of him.

"Wow," Clare breathed, obviously stunned by this whole thing. She was trying to take in as much information as she could but it was hard to fathom it all at once. "Wait, but I've never heard her say a word about you. What's that all about?"

"I asked her not to. I wasn't exactly fond of our relation and I most defiantly was not proud of her. I suggested we keep this thing quiet. You know, just to be safe or whatever."

"Did she ever want to tell anyone about this? You know, by sending you to meet me, she obviously has some amount of respect for you. Maybe even admires you? You really should talk to her." She advised, putting her hand lightly on his knee which in turn sent tingles up Eli's spine. He turned down the street to Clare's house and sighed. She could tell she had just struck a nerve and quickly gathered her stuff up, making sure she had everything. As the two pulled up in front of Clare's house she offered a warm smile.

"Here you are, m'lady." He said in a very bad English accent, making Clare giggle. There was an awkward pause between the two, as they were unsure as to how to end the evening.

"I had a really good time tonight." Clare admitted, blushing. "I know you may hate Dani for this, but I'm honestly glad she set us up. Like I said, I miss not talking to you like this." Eli nodded, flashing his signature smirk. "Maybe, we could be friends?" His face lit up with her comment, more so than he had intended, and he nodded.

"Yeah, maybe," Just then, Jake exited the house and walked up to Eli's car. Clare's entire body language tone went from one of an awkward stand still to one of utter joy and emotion – making Eli fume with jealousy.

"Hey!" Jake greeted, discreetly kissing Clare on the cheek and sending her into a fit of giggles. He looked into the car and spied Eli. "Oh hey, I didn't know you were the one going with her." He said it almost as if it were a bad thing. Eli nodded up once, as if not wanting to waste more energy on this guy than absolutely necessary. " Well, thanks for bringing my girl home safe." Eli glared silently and Clare rose up a hand in a wave.

"Goodnight, Eli. Thanks again for the ride." The boy driving smiled at her as Jake escorted her back into the house.

"Goodnight, Clare." He said softly, although she could not hear him on account of her already being inside. He saw the door close as if it were closing on his heart. His chest physically hurt as Eli felt his heart crumble into a million tiny little pieces. The look of content on his face slowly turned to one of pure hatred and rage. Why would Dani do this to him? Why on earth would she send him on a "date" – or whatever the hell it was – with the girl he had loved for so long? The girl he was still in love with. Eli slammed his hands into the steering wheel and sharply turned it, making himself do a U turn in the middle of the street. It was pitched black outside and Eli could feel the inky anger bleed throughout his body. He was furious. How could she make him relive everything he had tried so hard to get over? She made him see Clare again. Dani did this. It was all. Her. Fault.


	4. Chapter 4: What Ensues

Dani heard the front door open with a quick and startling _whoosh_ behind her and slam just as suddenly as it had opened. '_Eli's home.' _She thought without missing a beat. "Hey," Dani said brightly, turning to face her brother from her position on the couch. Upon hearing the girl's voice he stopped and turned to face her. The magazine she had previously been reading fell from her hand as she saw his edgy expression. "h-how was the show...?" She asked hesitantly, a little nervous.

"Why didn't you tell me she was going to be there?" Eli asked through clenched teeth, balling and unballing his hands.

"W-who, Clare? She's a friend of mine, I thought you guys might get along, since you're both really into theater and all."

"How could you do this?" Eli asked, raising his voice, barely listening to what his little sister had just said.

"What are you talking about?" Dani asked honestly confused. She stood up, not wanting to trigger an angry outburst, though it looked like she was too late.

"How can you be so stupid?" He took a few steps closer, feeling a sudden urge to strangle the young girl in front of him.

"Excuse me? I figured you'd be glad to have someone there with a common interest-"

"You thought I'd be happy about this? HOW COULD YOU THINK I'D BE HAPPY ABOUT THIS?" He yelled.

"Why are you so mad? Good God, Eli," Dani was now screaming too. "do you have to ruin everything with your goddamn dramatics?" She narrowed her eyes, glaring and crossing her arms.

"You really think I'm overreacting here? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Oh, yeah, MY bad!" Dani laughed, sarcastically. "I'm so FUCKING sorry for trying to do something nice for my brother-"

"Don't call me that!" He spat. Dani's eyes widened and she dug her nails into the palm of her hand.

"I swear, if that's what this is about... never mind" She raised her hands up in surrender, pausing. "I set you up with a sweet, funny, cute girl, and THIS is how you treat me? And you have the balls to ask what's wrong with ME? You have some nerve..."

"Shut up, you have no idea what you're talking about."

"Then enlighten me." Eli chewed the inside of lip, not wanting to say something he'd regret. "Whatever, I don't want to listen to your bullshit anyways. You'd just turn this around on me, right? Well, I guess I should have figured you knew her. Didn't think you hated her, but my bad, right?"

"You think I hate Clare? You really don't know, do you?" He chuckled mockingly then shot her another annoyed and pissed-off look.

"Clearly!" She raised her hands for a moment then quickly threw them down to her sides in an exaggerated and exasperated shrug. "I mean, if you don't hate her why are treating me like I just put you on a date with a terrorist?" Eli took in a deep breath, trying not to let his anger get the better of him. He sat down on the couch and Dani took a seat next to him.

"I don't hate Clare..." He repeated, this time whispering. Eli clasped his hands together and stared at them. Dani just sat there silently, she half expected him to lash out again with a surge of anger but instead he stayed still. She didn't want to say anything and trigger him again, but she was curious as to his reaction. She hated them fighting, and figured the only way they could ever stop was if they got on the same page.

"Then what is it?" Dani finally said, still a tad annoyed.

"... You couldn't have known. I'm an idiot for thinking you could have." Eli looked up and caught Dani's eyes.

"What couldn't I have known?" She pressed. He sighed and again fixed his gaze at his hands that were now slightly shaking. It took him a minute to think of how to begin, he knew this was going to be hard to do.

"Clare and I, we have a bit of a history..." He finally began. "We used to be a couple. We were," Eli paused, gathering his thoughts still. "we went through a lot. She was the first person I felt, close to, after Julia." Dani felt her eyebrows furrow. She remembered hearing about Julia before in passing, but only once or twice. From what she had gathered she was Eli's ex-girlfriend who had passed away, but she didn't know the cause of her death or anything else about the situation. Though curious, she knew it best not to push her luck and ask about her. "She found out about the hoarding, and the OCD; she knew everything." He met his sister's eyes. "She said she'd be there for me, that she would help me... that she wouldn't leave me." Eli said in a soft, whisper like tone. "Maybe she just felt guilty because I had been there when her parents went through their divorce. Regardless, she knew about me. Everything about me. But then I had to go ruin it. I was too clingy, too overprotective, too fucked up. I just pushed her away. Somehow I always manage to hurt those who mean the most to me..."

"Eli..." She sighed and rested her hand on his. "I had no idea, I swear! I never would have done this if I had even the slightest idea. I didn't even think-"

"I know you wouldn't have." He murmured. Dani took in a deep breath as she drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"I'm sorry." She tried to force a smile. "You guys sounded like quite the couple..."

"Yeah, but look how it turned out." He rolled his eyes.

"You liked her a lot, huh?"

"Obviously too much. I couldn't live without her. And it's still hard to." She bit her lip nervously and mindlessly popped her wrist.

"Do you mind if I ask you something...?" Her brother nodded, still looking down. "Did you love her?"

Eli sighed again as he shook his head, but not as if to say no. "I did. I really did. She was my world and I let her slip away without any way of getting her back. Now she's gone for good. Sucks to be me, right?" Dani hunched over even more and took in a sharp breath.

"I promise, I'll never do something like this again. I won't even talk about her." He nodded but quickly stopped himself.

"No, it's fine. To be honest I want you to talk about her; I miss her too much to block her out of my world completely. Maybe my ex-girlfriend and my little sister being "bff's" won't be a bad thing at all. Maybe just the opposite." He paused. "Just, don't invite her over anytime soon, okay?" Dani couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't worry, that'd be way too weird!" She stopped and made eye contact with Eli again, smiling brightly now. He looked at her quizzically.

"What?"

"You called me your little sister."

"Get over yourself." He chuckled, taking a throw pillow off the couch and shoving it into her face. She laughed and grabbed the pillow, hurling it back at him. Eli caught the pillow as it was just centimeters away from his face and gave her a mock-glare. "Nice try." He teased.

"Whatever, brat." Dani crossed her arms and playfully stuck her tongue out, still laughing.

"Brat? Exactly how old are you?"

"Oh shut up!" She punched his arm, only slightly holding back.

"Oww!" He yelled over-dramatically as his face twisted with such exaggerated pain Dani couldn't help but laugh hysterically at her brother's antics. Eli shook his head and grabbed his sister's ponytail and yanked, pulling her head back slightly. She screamed slightly and he chuckled and released her hair.

"What the hell was that?" Dani asked, unable to keep a straight face.

"Revenge is sweet." He commented coyly before getting up and heading to his room. After a few steps, Eli turned back to his sister who was re-putting her hair up a ponytail after he had practically undone her hair. "Night sis." He said before finally slipping away into his locked bedroom.


	5. Chapter 5: The Rememberance

Dani rolled over in her bed, wrapping her blankets closer around her body. She tried to shake the nightmare away, but she was still asleep, and it wasn't going anywhere.

She looked up at the large wooden door that had been painted black to match the rest of the doors in the apartment complex. A chill ran down her spine and them back up, reminding her of the horrendous memory trapped behind this door. She didn't want to be here, and yet she was, unable to stop herself from re-living the nightmare over and over, six years after it happened. It happened this way every time; Dani knew the outcome - it never changed - she hated having to go through this, and yet some outside force made it impossible for her to escape it. This wasn't a bad T.V. show or a scary movie, you couldn't just change the channel or turn it off, this was her subconscious mind torturing her and making her go through the same agony she did as a little girl, again.

Against her better judgement, the girl slowly knocked on the door. Dani's conscious mind knew exactly what was about to happen, but her subconscious mind didn't give her her a choice - so she kept going. When her "father" didn't answer after the third knock, she stood on her toes and felt the top of the door frame until she found the spare key her father always kept. The scene was all too familiar to her, and yet as it all continued, Dani's conscious began to give way to the terror of the dream and slip into a deeper state of unaware sleep.

"Daddy...?" She herd her young self ask slowly and sweetly, just as she had the day this all happened. The day this all really happened. Her subconscious mind had captured a vivid image - more like a video - of the entire scene. From the disheveled look of the foyer to the 'lived-in' living room and kitchen, complete with dirty dishes occupying the sink.

The room was dark. Every room was dark. Not a single light was on, and even though it was 3:30 in the afternoon, not a single curtain had been opened. Dani looked about the room curiously, confused as to why her father wasn't bustling about as he always was on Friday aftrenoon's when his "daughter" came to visit and stay for the weekend. The house was messier than she was ever used to seeing it, adding to the darkness. Emotional clutter added to the spooky ambiance, for Dani's mind had remembered even the tiniest nuance that occurred that day, and now felt the need to replay it all in dream form.

Dani -still trapped in the body of her young self - took timid steps forward and into the hallway. She felt herself curiously look into each of the rooms, even though the real her knew exactly what happened next. As she approached the final door, the girl debated whether to knock or just turn the knob. It was the door that led into her father's room, a room she rarely went in and whose door was almost never closed. The gray, filtered light flooded into the hallway and the rest of the apartment as the bedroom door creaked open. She felt herself gasp and her knees go weak as the image came into focus. Dust floated around in the dim light that was available, Dani felt like she was in a horror movie; just as she had felt that Friday afternoon. A rush of emotions filled her body all at once, making Dani's chest grow tight and her heart race, leaving her out of breath and gasping for the stale air that surrounded her.

"Daddy...?" She repeated as she stepped closer to the bed. All at once, all of the happiness and eagerness that had filled her just moments before was washed out and replaced with confusion, fear and a twinge of unbeknownst sorrow. Lightly she ran her fingers through his hair, it was soft, but cold. The man lay on the bed, he seemed peaceful, but the only sound in the entire apartment was her ragged breathing. "Daddy..." She whispered, and sat on the bed next to his body that was now stiff. Dani's gaze slowly turned to the mirror in front of her. The young girl looked at her father in the mirror, then locked eyes with herself just in time to catch a single tear fall from her hypnotizing green eyes.

Suddenly, Dani saw herself age rapidly in the mirror to her current age, looking more forlorn and grievous with every second. She glanced back over to whom was laying next to her, but something was different. The room had faded from dimly lit white walls to dark gray, black, and red ones, the tightly closed curtains morphed into torn and disheveled mini blinds, and the wood floors were now a cluttered carpet. But the room wasn't the only thing that had changed, the man seemed changed as well. His clean-cut dirty blonde hair was now longer and raven, his previously rounder face now had a distinct and chiseled jawline, and the man had somehow become shorter and more fit looking. Dani let out a silent shriek upon recognizing the figure and jumped off the bed, backing into one of the walls. She quickly covered her mouth with one hand and gripped on to her hair in panic with the other. The room began to spin as she tried to let out the loudest scream of her life, only no sound was able to escape her mouth. She couldn't catch her breath, the sight in front of her too horrid, and yet she physically couldn't look away. Her father's lifeless body had been replaced with her brother's.

The girl tried again to scream, but the air was still silent. Dani's head throbbed and she slid down the wall until she hit the ground, where she curled up, pulling her knees to her chest. Tears were running down her face like a waterfall now; she was so confused. Dani could slowly feel her conscious mind begin to take over again - and none of this made sense. The scene she saw in front of her both confused and disturbed her; at this point it was hard to distinguish reality from the nightmare she was enduring.

Dani shot up out of bed, her sheets and comforter falling down to her waist. Her breath was heavy and labored, and her hands shook violently, like the rest of her body, as she held them up to her chest as if to keep her heart from pounding right out of her. She felt cold and nauseous, and her head ached. Everything about what she had just seen seemed so real, Dani couldn't even be sure she was fully awake now. She remembered hearing that the more one moved, the more you forgot your previous dream. So Dani got out of bed and bit down hard on her bottom lip, making sure she was fully conscious now. A sharp pain pierced through her and she violently shook her head, falling back onto the bed. It was obvious: the girl wasn't about to forget this anytime soon.

Eli wandered out of his room wearing a DH tee shirt and a pair of plaid pajama pants. The digital clock on his bedside table had spat the time 3:18 in blood red as he looked over at it upon hearing a rustling move from Dani's room to the living room. He figured it was just the teenage girl bumbling around in the night, but something had told him to go check it out. Strictly against his will, he had staggered out of bed and down the hallway into the living room where he had spotted his sister wrapped in a blanket like a burito in the corner of the couch.

"Hey," He said softly, leaning against the door way. Eli had obviously startled her as she quickly whipped her head around upon hearing the voice, before giving him an annoyed and dismissive eye roll. "Isn't is past you bed time?" He gave a slight chuckle.

Dani sniffed a sob and a new set of tears away as she curled into a tighter ball on the living room couch and gripped the blanket around her tighter. "Go back to bed!" She snapped; although, her tone didn't quite carry the message she wanted on account of them talking quietly so not to wake their parents. Eli shook his head with a slight chuckle and pushed himself off the wall, arms still crossed, and went over to take a seat on the chair adjacent to the couch so as to still give her the space she needed.

"Alright," He said, trying to hide his annoyance. "What is up with you?" Dani shot him another glare to which Eli simply rolled his eyes to. "Go on, spill." The girl let out a deep breath slowly and turned her body so that she was facing him.

"I had a bad dream okay?" She shrugged and whipped another batch of fresh tears off her face.

"Obviously it was more than just 'a bad dream'. It's seemed to have shaken you up pretty bad." Dani sighed.

"You know when I first came here, and told you about everything that was going on at home?" His sister finally said. Eli nodded tentatively, slowly remembering everything Dani had told him about herself over the course of that day. He remembered her reason for coming and finding his family, and the scene began to play back in his head.

"I've had some... trouble, at home." Eli remembered her responding to Bullfrog's question as to her finding them now. Dani was now having dinner with the family after having shown up on the door step when only Eli and Cece were home. She had loosely explained who she was and the situation she was in. Almost immediately after that Bullfrog was home and they suggested she stay and "catch up". The girl had already let them know she had found the family through a series of internet searched after some investigating in her hometown for a school project. She had gone to city hall and called the hospital she was supposedly born at for records of her birth and other personal information and came to an odd conclusion - she had been adopted. According to Dani, her mother had blown up at her supposed daughter and the whole accusation; leaving Dani to believe what she had discovered was true. A year of hard work and thorough investigation skills had all led up to this moment - something she wasted no time in explaining.  
>"The couple who adopted me went through a messy divorce when I was about seven, and they decided the best choice was for me to live with my "mom". I never really had that mother-daughter bond that so many of my friends had - I was way closer with my dad - so I wasn't really so keen on the situation in the first place. Then as I started into those dreaded tween and pre-teen years," She let out a small, light, chuckle "our little spats and disagreements turned into full fledged arguments and fights. I mean, I'm not saying I didn't deserve everything the said to or about me, it was all just as much my fault as it was hers, but I soon learned it wouldv'e been Hell had I stayed there."<p>

"Well," Cece began "your mother loves you very much..."

"She used to," Dani corrected. "she told me that stopped when she stopped loving my dad. Turns out she was right, kinda... after the divorce she was diagnosed with a "slight" case of psychopathy. She hid it from everyone, but I found the diagnosis and all the prescriptions she hadn't filled when I was searching our house for my birth certificate for the project."

"Did you call DHS or anyone?" Bullfrog asked, his voice a tad hoarse still from the show. "What about your dad? You said you were close with him?"

"No, I couldn't bring myself to turn her in... but I did let her know I found those things - that I found everything. I also told her I was going into Toronto, to find you, and as expected she was indifferent." The girl responded. "As for my dad... well.. he passed away, years ago. I thought my mom was all I had." She tried a small smile but was met with unsure expressions from the rest of the table.

"How do we know you're really her?" Eli spat, a little louder than intended. Cece shot her son a look of disapproval and Dani shook her head dismissively.

"No, no it's fine. I assumed you couldn't just take my word for it, so I brought my birth certificate and the adoption papers. I left my "mom" with copies." She said and pulled a yellow manilla envelope of paperwork from her purse and handed it to the family. "Here."

"So, I'm a little confused. Are you wanting to live with us or something...?" Bullfrog squinted a bit, partly in confusion, partly in attempt to read the tiny print of the papers. Dani sighed and looked down at the question.

"In all honesty... I just wanted a paternity test, to make sure," she met back up with their eyes "but after I found out about Eli, I don't know, I thought maybe you might want me now...?" Dani's voice became softer ad she went on. Suddenly she let out a deep breath and got up from her seat. "I'm so sorry, I really don't want to intrude. Coming here was a huge mistake." She said the last sentence mainly to herself. "Thank you all so much for your hospitality, but I really should be leaving now. Please, keep the paperwork, it really is yours anyways." _And I'm not. _She thought. Dani gathered her coat and flung her purse across her shoulder, heading for the door.

"Wait!" Bullfrog and Cece called in unison getting up and following their daughter to the door.

"Where are you going?" It was just Cece's voice this time.

"I'll find a place to stay. Or I can just take a late Greyhound back home or something." She offered another weak smile and turned back to the front door.

"You will do no such thing. You will stay here with us."

Eli snapped back from his recollection and looked over to his sister with a look of confusion. "And...? Wait, you mean with your mom?" Dani shook her head violently.

"No! I had a dream about my dad. Well, kind of..."

"I thought you said he passed away?"

"That's the thing." She paused and swallowed a sob. "He did. The way custody was set up, I lived with my mom but visited my dad every other weekend. I'd go to his apartment after school on Friday's and he'd bring me back to school Monday morning - that way they didn't have to see each other." She was rambling, something she did when nervous.

"Woah, slow down." Eli said about her talking speed. The girl simply responded with an eye roll and turned to face away from him again. He sighed and put a hand lightly on her shoulder, trying his best to "comfort" her. "Sorry. Continue?"

"I saw him dead." Eli raised an eyebrow. "That Friday after school, I came to his place, a-and I s-saw him. He was face down on the bed, sprawled out, and as my weight shifted the floorboards an empty prescription bottle fell from his hands. He didn't tell anyone; he didn't even seem like he was going to - you know." Dani watched as her brother's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and his jaw practically fell to the ground. "Ha, that was my reaction too..." She shook her head. "My father was always one who preached religiously that suicide was not the answer, and even after the divorce he seemed, well, happy as a clam! It was so sudden, so unexpected..." Dani swallowed yet another outburst of tears and sobs and gently rested her head on her brother's shoulder. She was shaking again at this point; how could just talking about this be so hard. The past probably thirty minutes had dug up so many memories Dani had tried to bury, it was all almost unbearable.

"And this was what your dream was about...?" Eli asked tentatively. "Seeing him again?"

"Not exactly," she began "the first part of it was my mind replaying the entire scene over again. I was eight years old again, walking into his house. I guess my subconscious captured everything - including all my thoughts - and chose now of all times to play it back to be in dream form." He nodded, urging her to continue. "But instead of panicking and calling the police like I did when I was little, I sat next to him; like I new what was happening. Then I looked back down on the bed, and the body wasn't his, I looked around and the room wasn't his either... but knew whose it was."

"Wait, it was someone else's dead body on your dad's bed?" Dani nodded quickly, no longer bothering to hold back the waterfall now coming from her eyes. "Who was it, Dan?"

"You." She managed to get out in a whisper.


End file.
